The Asian Las Vegas will become a hub to standardize Chinese medicine in science and turn them into products to be sold around the globe.

That ambition is unveiled in the Special Administrative Region's (SAR) first all-encompassing five-year plan. After a year of preparation, the proposal identified Chinese medicine as one of the emerging sectors in the city – after events, cultural and creative industries – hoping to create new employment opportunities and further diversify the economy.

It will take hard work to wean Macao off its heavy reliance on gambling and the goal is to make use of the city's long tradition in Chinese medical treatment, governmental support and the trend of health tourism.

Liu Liang, Dean of Faculty of Chinese Medicine and President of the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST), believes the state-of-the-art facilities and the Guangdong-Macao Traditional Chinese Medicine Scientific Industrial Park has a strong edge in making Chinese medicine scientific.

Built on 500,000 square meters of land in Hengqin, the peninsular in Zhuhai that is the closest part of the Chinese mainland to Macao, the industrial park aims to win international recognition for traditional Chinese medicine and turn it into products that can be sold around the world.

Liu says innovation and making Chinese medicine scientific is a major strategy of the nation, as well as SAR, although many scholars and Western medical experts think the remedies contradict some Western medical theories.

"It is key to go out and earn world recognition of traditional Chinese medicine, although many still regard it as alternative medicine," said the professor, also a veteran Chinese medical doctor, who cited Chinese pharmacologist Tu Youyou, who received the Nobel Prize for Medicine last year, as an example. "It has been proven to cure many diseases. There is doubtless scientific reaction behind the remedy, and it takes time in Western countries."

Liu considers Chinese medicine to be an emerging sector that Macao should take advantage of in the future, as medical innovation is a value-added sector that could generate high revenue. "We want to turn the culture and philosophy of Chinese medicines into products and equipment, which we can export to the rest of the world."

Liu helped establish ISO standards (ISO/TC249) for Chinese medicine in MUST, which is also home to the standard's secretariat and research centre. He believes the former Portuguese colony will be a window for the culture of Chinese medicine to the world, especially for Portuguese speaking countries.

While the European Union and Macao have agreed to increase cooperation in research and innovation through Horizon 2020 at the 20th meeting of the European Union-Macau Joint Committee, Liu said many Western scientists and medical doctors are coming to Chinese cities to acquire Chinese medicine and gain clinical experience. Macao would be an ideal destination for Portuguese-speaking medical personnel.

Local legislator Antonio Ng Kwok-cheong also believes Chinese medicine is a promising industry that Macao should develop.

"It is a potential market as there will be an increasing medical expenditure all around the world," Ng said.

The lawmaker also expected a synergy effect between tourism and Chinese medicine. "Gaming is the brand of our city, and it is time to think how to merge it with this traditional medical knowledge, which has been popular in here for centuries."

Agnes Lam, president of Macao Civil Power, a local political commentary group, agreed that Chinese medicine is the right path for this small city to diversify its economy, as the sector is less space-consuming.

She suggested Macao, the well-known tourism and leisure hub, can promote health tourism as a way to boost the two industries, as Macao has a long tradition of using Chinese medicine to not only cure illness but also to preserve people's health.

"Let's say, detox tourism is popular in many Southeast Asian countries, like Thailand and [the] Philippines. We can also use our medical edge to provide alternative tourism experience," said Lam, who expected Chinese-medicine-themed resort facilities can also make Macao stand out from the homogenous luxury resort market in Asia, if not the world.